Tears of a Warrior
by Traycer
Summary: Wounded and separated from their teammates, Jack and Daniel find shelter with natives who may have a bigger problem than they do.  JackOther
1. Chapter 1

This is yet another WIP that I am working on. I've got several chapters done and I had posted it some time ago in a Yahoo group, but I was going to wait until I either wrote the complete story or got my other WIP fics done before posting it here. But I am suffering from a horrible case of writer's block (for several months now) and I'm hoping that I will get inspired to get back into writing if I start posting this story here.

A warning goes with this fic. Not only is it a Jack/Other fic, but people will die in this story. None of the main characters will die (I am still not up to that task), but there will be some deaths.

Finally, I really don't like the title of this story. I'm sure it will change, just as soon as I find one that I like. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to send them on to me.

Special thanks to Diane for her fantastic beta skills and to Neith's-Arrow who not only inspired this story, but gave me some great insights and thoughts on which direction to take it.

Summary: Wounded and separated from their teammates, Jack and Daniel find shelter with natives who may have a bigger problem than they do.

* * *

**Prologue**

He was just standing there, staring off into the horizon. She tried to see what he was looking at, but all she could see was the barren landscape of the desert they were currently standing in. Dirt, rocks and a few bushes dotted the ground, as she followed his gaze, but there was nothing spectacular as far as she could see, so it must be the sunset that had captured his attention.

And it was a beautiful sight. She stood there for a moment, watching the sun setting in the distance with its fiery rays splashing colors across the sky. She watched as blue faded into purple, red and orange, while the top of the sun shone through the gaps of the mountains in the distance. It was a beautiful sight in all its glory, but Sam Carter wondered if Colonel O'Neill was really seeing it.

"Colonel?" she asked tentatively.

He jumped and turned his head slightly toward her, but quickly turned back to the view. "I'll be there in a minute Carter," he replied gruffly.

"Yes sir," she said, almost automatically. He wouldn't look at her and this worried her. He was grieving, she knew this, but she didn't know how to help him.

She looked back toward the Stargate, hoping for some help from her teammates, but Daniel was staring off into the distance, lost in his own grief, and Teal'c really wasn't the type to help out in situations like this. She was on her own and she had absolutely no idea what to do.

"It's a beautiful sunset, isn't it?" She wanted to help him, but he was so aloof, especially at times like this, and she had no idea where to start.

He didn't respond. He just glared down at the ground for a moment, then trained his features into a blank expression as he nodded. He still hadn't looked at her and Sam decided to keep her silence before she really pissed him off.

She stood next to him, watching as the sun slid down through the sky. It sank gracefully down behind the mountains, while leaving traces of colors to highlight the mountaintops. It was symbolic in a way, the setting sun making its way to darkness, while Colonel O'Neill and Daniel dwelled in the darkness of their own grief.

The darkness settled over the landscape, while Sam dug into her pack to find her flashlight. She pulled it out and turned it on just as Daniel came up to stand next to her. "Jack," he said, sadness weighing heavily in his voice. "Maybe we should…"

"Let's go," the Colonel growled, anger having replaced his sadness. He stalked over to the Stargate and stopped to wait for the familiar sounds of the chevrons whirling into place, while Sam stared at him in surprise. He still had his back to her, and Sam was starting to get seriously concerned. She turned to see what Daniel made of this behavior, but he just shrugged and walked over to the DHD leaving her to wonder just what happened to Daniel and the Colonel when they were stranded with the natives.

She walked up to stand next to her commanding officer, glancing over at him as she did so, only to end up staring at him as she saw a single tear roll down his cheek. The Colonel still refused to look at her, and Sam now knew the reason why. He was too proud to let anyone in to see his grief. But it was there, a tangible emotion that was threatening to break Sam's heart. She hated it when her own emotions got in the way, but watching the infallible Jack O'Neill weep just seemed to be too much for her. She went back to looking at the Stargate in an effort to give him the privacy he so obviously wanted.

The chevrons lit up, while the event horizon billowed out at them, and Sam chanced one more glance at the Colonel. He was looking at something in his hand, something that was beige, with a deep red and green design on it, before he turned one last time to look toward the mountains that were now lost in the darkness. He whispered something, then turned and walked toward the Gate. Sam felt like an intruder, as she stood there watching his pain, but she shook it off and followed the Colonel's lead. They were heading home, but for once Sam didn't want to go.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Darkness was his friend. Well, most of the time, anyway. The darkness that surrounded Jack O'Neill now meant safety. Enemies would not be able to find him in the dark. He could hide out in plain sight all night long and no one would be the wiser. On the other hand, darkness brought out the cold, as well as fears of what could not be seen, and this particular darkness held a touch of panic for Jack, despite his initial thoughts of safety.

He sat in the darkness, quietly reflecting on the circumstances that had brought him to this point. He had been standing next to Daniel in a temple, which was really a glorified pyramid, but who was he to quibble with Daniel when he was in his geek mode? They had been standing there next to a statue of some god, with Daniel telling him all about the statue's history, or at least what he had figured out from his readings, when a rumbling noise made its presence known. The rumbling seemed to be coming from somewhere up above, but Jack didn't care to take the time to try to figure out where the noise was actually coming from. He had been way too interested in getting out of the place entirely.

They didn't make it out.

The ceiling came down on them in a matter of moments, with bricks, rocks and everything else raining down on them, blocking their exit. Jack changed directions in mid stride, dragging Daniel with him when a particularly large boulder barely missed them as it landed in their path. They headed straight for the wall closest to them, pressing themselves up against the stones, and ducking down to cover their heads to hopefully survive the cave-in.

Jack didn't remember anything after that, at least nothing until he woke up a few minutes ago, groggy, disoriented, and dealing with a massive headache, trying desperately to see in the inky blackness of the mess he had ended up in. More importantly, he so hoped he wasn't alone.

"Daniel?" No response, which was very disheartening, but not devastating, not yet anyway. Jack had been knocked out; it only stood to reason that Daniel had been too. With that thought in mind, Jack reached down to find his flashlight, switching it on to put some light on the matter.

Damn thing didn't want to work. He shook the flashlight, then switched the toggle a few more times in hopes that it would turn on, but no such luck. He was going to have to find Daniel's flashlight and give that a try.

In the meantime, he had another ace up his sleeve. "Teal'c," he said after finding and pressing the button on his radio. "Teal'c, you out there?" No response. "Carter! Come in, Carter." Nothing happened, which really didn't surprise Jack all that much. The other two members of his team were probably too far away to reach.

"Jack?"

"Daniel? That you?"

"Yeah. You okay?"

"As well as can be expected," Jack told his friend. "What about you?" Daniel didn't respond right away, he just groaned, which added to Jack's worry. "Daniel?"

"I think my arm's broken."

Jack waited, but aside from another groan, Daniel didn't add to the list. "That's all?"

"I think that's a lot, don't you?" Daniel grouched. Jack grinned into the darkness; at least Daniel was well enough to be grumpy.

"I guess," Jack replied. He hoped that was all that was wrong with his friend. Jack knew from his own impromptu inventory of injuries, that he had a nasty headache, bruised ribs, if not broken, and various aches and pains that were making him miserable. "I can't see a damn thing. Does your flashlight work?"

"Hold on," Daniel said. Jack waited, hoping that something would go right. Light would make getting out of there a lot easier.

Apparently an easy escape was not on the agenda. The slight panic Jack had been dealing with since he had woken up in the dark, grew to full blown terror when Daniel said, "There you are." Jack heard bricks being moved and other noises that indicated Daniel was on the move, but he couldn't see anything. The darkness was complete. He turned toward the sound of Daniel's voice, trying to see past the darkness, but still nothing.

Oh God, not this.

"Hey," Daniel said, as he jostled Jack when he sat down next to him. Jack didn't respond. He turned to face forward, trying desperately to calm himself down. He needed to think clearly, and panic was a sure way to get him on the wrong track. "As well as can be expected, huh?" Daniel continued on. "There's blood on your face." Jack pulled back from Daniel's touch, flinching from the pain. But Daniel had figured it out. "Oh God. Jack?"

Jack didn't turn toward Daniel's voice. He just responded as if nothing was wrong. "Yeah?"

"You're blind, aren't you?"

Well, so much for hiding the truth from his friend. But he still tried to act like it wasn't a big deal. "Brilliant deduction, Daniel. What was your first clue?"

"Well, I think it was when I shined the flashlight in your eyes and you didn't even blink," Daniel said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Or maybe it was because I've been waving my hands in front of your face for a few minutes now and no reaction." Jack just sat there, not really knowing what to say to Daniel. He leaned his head back against the wall, willing his eyes to start working, while listening to Daniel rustle through his pack. "Your flashlight works," Daniel said, as he continued doing whatever he was doing. "We'll be able to use it when my batteries die."

Jack nodded, wondering what he was going to do now. He had always taken his sight for granted, using it even in the dead of night, as he wandered through enemy territory, or through a silent house in search of a midnight snack. But now that his sight was gone, he didn't have the slightest idea of where to go from here, or how to get out.

This was not the first time, he thought desperately, while Daniel gently probed at the cut near Jack's temple. He had been blinded by a Jaffa grenade during that fateful mission on Apophis' ship. But Teal'c had been there to tell him the blindness was only temporary. Jack worried that maybe this time, the blindness was permanent.

"I think we are really trapped this time," Daniel was saying, as he cleaned and bandaged the cut on Jack's head. "It looks like we are in a pocket of space… that statue we were standing next to fell over us and it looks like the top of it is rammed up against the wall, providing a shelter from most of the stuff that fell on us." He fell silent for a moment, and then said, "Kind of ironic, isn't it? An alien god protecting us." Jack had to agree with that last statement. He had spent way too many years fighting against alien gods. To have one protecting him just seemed odd.

"Do you see a way out?" he finally asked. He had to wait a moment while Daniel looked around, but he finally got an answer.

"No. We are surrounded by tons of bricks and mortar." There was silence for another minute, before Daniel continued on with his narrative. "I can't see anything that might help. It looks like every rock in the temple is piled up on top of that statue."

"If that was the case, the statue wouldn't have held up under the weight," Jack said, his mind working on a solution to their problem. "What about the wall behind us? Isn't this wall an outer wall?"

"Yeah, I think it is," Daniel replied thoughtfully. "Maybe if we can break through it, or better yet, have Sam and Teal'c blow it up…" He stopped at that, and Jack just shook his head.

"I already tried reaching them on the radio," he told his friend. "No dice. We'll just have to figure out a way on our own and hope they start digging in the right place."

"You don't think they'll be back in time to help, do you?"

Jack didn't have an answer for that one. "I don't know Daniel. Maybe they heard the cave-in, maybe they didn't. We're just going to have to do this one on our own until they get here."

Daniel didn't respond, which was fine with Jack. He didn't really want to think about the fact that Teal'c and Carter had gone off to search for the UAV that had gone down during the initial observation test. Daniel had wanted to study the temple and Jack was all for hanging out in the temple over trekking through the desert that surrounded the place. He found himself wishing he'd had the foresight to insist that they all go after the UAV.

Daniel suddenly got up and started crawling away, causing Jack to panic slightly at being left alone. "Daniel?"

"I'm going to see if I can start digging through some of this rock," Daniel responded. Jack could hear Daniel moving bricks and rocks around, as well as a few grunts and groans, causing Jack to wonder if Daniel had been lying to him when he'd said he was okay. But the noise calmed Jack, and he settled down, realizing that he was okay as long as he could hear Daniel working.

But Jack wasn't the type to sit around and wait for others to do the dirty work, so he got up and started to crawl over to the place where the noise was coming from. He moved tentatively and very slowly, hoping that he wasn't making things worse, as some bricks fell to the side when he made his way over them.

Daniel, apparently had other ideas. "I can do this, Jack," he said. "Go back and sit down."

"I can help, Daniel. I may be blind, but I'm not helpless." The fact that Daniel even believed this had Jack's blood boiling.

"I know that Jack, but you'll be better off sitting back down." Jack stubbornly continued to crawl over the rocks toward Daniel's voice, then stopped and yelped when one of the bricks cut through his hand. "See?" Daniel said, sounding like an exasperated parent. "Come on. Go back and sit down and let me look at your hand."

"I'm not a child, Daniel." Daniel grunted at that remark, but wisely kept silent. The tinkling sound of bricks started up once again, and Jack let Daniel lead him back to sit down next to the wall. They sat there in silence, while Daniel broke out the first aid kit again. Jack used the silence to work on a scenario for escaping their prison. Coming up with a solution was a hell of a lot better than sitting there doing nothing.

Daniel finished with his makeshift bandaging, having wrapped something around Jack's hand and tying it off with a flourish. Jack winced when Daniel tied it a tad too tight, but he was damned if he'd complain. Daniel's treatment of him a few minutes ago demanded that Jack prove that he wasn't helpless, and Daniel's next words made him all the more determined to beat the crap out of his friend.

"Just sit tight and try not to touch anything." Anger moved in, as he heard Daniel move away, causing Jack to reach down and grab the first thing his fingers touched. He hefted the brick and threw it in the direction where the noise of Daniel's movements came from, hoping he would get lucky and hurt the guy. He heard the rock land on more rocks, and exasperation took over as he heard Daniel chuckle. "You know," Daniel said. "I've always wanted to say that to you." Jack sat there and stewed over the gall Daniel had, as he glared out at the darkness. "But now that I did get to say it…" Jack waited for the admission, but was surprised when Daniel said, "It really does feel great!"

"Whatever," Jack muttered angrily, not the least bit interested in Daniel's enjoyment. Instead, he turned his attention to the problem at hand. An image of Indiana Jones breaking through a wall on a statue came to mind and he figured anything was worth a try. "Can we use the statue to break through the wall?"

"The statue?"

"Yeah, you know, like in that movie."

"You mean like Indiana Jones?" Daniel asked, surprise evident in his voice. "You've seen that movie?"

"Yeah, a couple of times." Jack decided at that moment not to elaborate on the subject any more than he already had. He was not about to give Daniel more ammunition to use against him, so he said, "Will we be able to do it here?"

"I don't think so." Jack wished once again that he could see, as he waited for Daniel to make his assessment. He hated feeling so helpless. "There are a lot of rocks piled up on it… We wouldn't be able to move it at all." Jack waited, hoping Daniel would come up with something, than sighed when it became apparent that Daniel didn't have anything to add to that.

"We've got to do something, Daniel."

"It's pretty hopeless, Jack."

"There's always a solution," Jack told him, as he reached into one of the pockets in his vest and wrapped his fingers around the cool surface of a grenade. He pulled it out and sat there, holding the grenade in his hand, while wondering if he had the courage to go through with it.

"We'll end up dead," Daniel predicted.

"Or end up getting out of here," Jack countered. He knew the odds were pretty high that they'd end up dead, but he'd much rather die trying than to sit around and wait for death to sneak up on him. "Help me out here, Daniel. What's our best option?" He waited for a response, then tried again after a few minutes of silence. "Daniel?"

"I'm thinking," Daniel grumbled. Jack waited, knowing that Daniel was with him on this. It was just a matter of figuring out the most strategic option to give them a fighting chance to survive the fallout. "I suppose if we put the grenade over there and hide out under the statue, we might be able to survive…" He stopped at that, and Jack waited quietly, listening to the silence that accompanied the darkness. Daniel had to come to terms with the plan, just as Jack had done. Daniel sighed heavily, then grabbed Jack's arm and pulled on it to help him up. "Let's get this over with," he said.

Jack settled in next to the wall of rocks that Daniel had led him to, curling up into a ball in hopes of protecting himself from the blast. Daniel sat down next to him, then took the grenade from Jack's hand. "In case we don't make it out of here, Jack…"

"I know Daniel," Jack responded quickly, "Me too."

"Get ready then," Daniel advised. Jack tensed up, ready for whatever, feeling Daniel do the same next to him as they faced the consequences of their decision with determination.

Even though he was expecting it, the explosion still took Jack by surprise. He huddled in the darkness as the roar of the explosion vibrated across the floor and sent rocks raining down on him. Pain shot through his body a split second before he passed out, his mind registering the pain and a deep sadness that filled his mind.

At least they had tried.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Jack woke up to darkness and pain, his body struggling to relieve itself of the vomit that had built up in his throat. He retched violently, barely aware of the hands that had turned him to his side so that he wouldn't choke on the stuff. It took a few minutes, but he finally stopped puking up his guts and the hands helped him to lie back down, falling back to sleep even before he was settled in.

The darkness was still his companion when he woke again, a throbbing pain in his head and chest making him wish he were dead. Something touched his forehead, startling him with the suddenness of it, and he thrashed out with his hand to protect himself. "Shhhh," came a soft, soothing voice. "Shhhh." Jack wanted to fight the unknown intruder, but his body wouldn't cooperate with his wishes. He lay there instead, listening to the soothing tones of the person who pressed a cool cloth to his forehead, calming down despite himself, as sleep took over again.

He had gained conscious several more times over the next few days. He didn't remember much, just that a few of the times he had wakened to discover that he was on the move, strapped to a travois of some kind, and groaning in pain as the travois was dragged over rocks and dirt. The agony had always been too much for him, causing him to slip back into a welcome oblivion, a place where he found immediate relief from the pain. But it was the darkness he woke up to every single time that worried him the most.

The soothing voice was also a constant companion. Jack had come to rely on that voice, listening for it every time he gained consciousness. It was a woman's voice, along with a woman's touch that calmed him when the fever raged inside his mind. And it was her presence that soothed him when he woke up in pain. He needed her, although he couldn't think of a reason why. He just craved the sound of her voice every time he woke up.

He didn't know how long he had been drifting in and out of consciousness when he woke up with a clear mind. He lay there in the darkness, waiting for the familiar sound of his angel, the woman who had tended to him the whole time. But all he heard was silence. He lay there, listening hard, then stiffened up, wincing in pain as he did so when he realized that he was not alone in the bed he was in. Someone was plastered against his side, with one arm thrown across his stomach. He lay there, hoping desperately that it was the woman with the soft voice snuggled up to him. He tried to move, but pain shot across his chest, causing him to groan. "You must sleep," the voice from his dreams told him. He smiled through his pain at the sound. She was still with him. He relaxed at that thought, and fell back asleep soon after.

He woke up the next day screaming in pain. His eyes were on fire and he tried to reach up to rub them, but strong arms were holding him down. "What's going on?" He heard Daniel yell at the top of his lungs. "What have you done to him?"

"Oh God," Jack screamed. The pain in his eyes was excruciating. He struggled against the arms that were holding him down, while calling out for the one person who would help him. "Daniel? Help me Daniel. Please."

"What the hell have you done to him?" Daniel asked again. Jack heard the desperation in his friend's voice, but he was more interested in escaping from the burning agony that resided in his eyes.

"Help me!" he pleaded.

"It is only medicine," a female voice said. Jack barely heard her. He had to break free of the arms that were holding him down, and he fought them with all his might, ignoring her pleas. "Please. You must not rub at your eyes."

"Let him go," Daniel demanded.

"Stay back," another voice spoke up. Many other voices shouted out demands and suggestions, while Daniel's voice filtered into Jack's mind, but Jack finally gave up on paying attention to anything that was going on in the room. All he could think about was the agony he was experiencing and that no one was going to help him.

He finally stopped struggling when it occurred to him that maybe if he did, they'd let him go. But the people who were holding him down must have seen through his plan, because they continued to hold on to his arms, effectively stopping him from reaching up to try to repair the damage to his eyes. Someone came and sat down next to him, causing the bed to shift a little, and ran their fingers along Jack's cheek. The pain was easing up a little, but Jack wanted it to go away altogether.

"Help me," he said to whomever it was sitting next to him.

It was Daniel who had come to sit with him. "What did you do to him?" Daniel asked again. Jack calmed down at the sound of Daniel's voice, realizing that not only had Daniel survived that blast, but he was also here with him. At least Jack wasn't alone in the darkness he had found himself in.

"Daniel," Jack whispered, the agony stripping him of his dignity. "It hurts."

"It'll be okay, Jack," Daniel responded, his fingers moving up to touch what Jack figured were bandages that covered his eyes. He nodded, as he tried to win back his dignity, but Daniel's anger broke through Jack's concentration. "He's bleeding." The accusation didn't surprise Jack at all. Something bad had to have happened to cause him so much agony.

"It is only the medicine that leaked out of his eyes." Softer fingers touched Jack's cheek, as someone else sat down on the bed, wiping away the wetness that was soaking the bandages and rolling down his face and into his hair. "The body produces tears to wash away foreign substances in the eyes, which is nature's way of protecting them." She continued to stroke Jack's face, and he concentrated on the movements as she went on with her explanations. "But the medicine will help to possibly cure his blindness. This is why his eyes are bandaged tightly. Even though the tears are trying to wash away the medicine, we have to make sure it stays inside his eyes."

"You can cure his blindness?" Daniel asked, surprise evident in his voice. Jack stilled, as he too waited for the response. It would be well worth the agony if he could gain his sight back.

"In some cases," the woman responded, crushing Jack's hopes into the ground. "The medicine will only work if the blindness is not permanent. Because you told us his blindness came from a blow to the head, I thought we should try the medicine."

"You could have at least told me that you were gong to fry my eyes," Jack spoke up tiredly. His chest hurt from the struggling, now that the pain in his eyes had eased into a dull ache, although it still felt like the medicine was burning holes into his head. He was just plain miserable and he "never" wanted to ever go through that again.

"We must apply it when the patient is asleep," the woman said. Now that Jack had calmed down, he recognized the voice. But the soothing sounds of the familiar voice had him on edge now. He didn't know if he could ever trust her again. "It is easier that way. If we have to do it a second time, I promise I will tell you in advance."

Oh God, Jack thought, panic moving in again. "Not in this freaking lifetime," he snarled at her, rage and panic forcing him to try to get free of the hands holding him down. He was never going through that again. The hands tightened their grasps, and Jack stopped struggling, breathing heavily from his efforts, as he realized that he was trapped. "Damn it, Daniel. I'm not going through that again."

"Don't worry about it Jack," Daniel told him.

"You will if it is necessary," the woman said stubbornly, nearly at the same time.

"No," Jack said adamantly, as he shook his head. "No way. That stuff's worse than the blindness." He tugged at his arms one more time, then lay still, resorting to silence as he tried to figure out a way to save himself. He just needed to calm down.

"We will wait and see," the woman insisted.

"That's easy for you to say," Jack growled. He had definitely decided that he would never trust her again. The hands suddenly let him go, and Jack was momentarily surprised.

"Do not rub your eyes," the woman demanded of Jack, an order that Jack immediately dismissed, as he automatically brought his hands up to touch the bandages that were wrapped tightly around his head.

"Come on Jack," Daniel spoke up. He wrapped his fingers around Jack's wrists and pulled on them, effectively stopping him from doing what he really wanted to do, which was to pull the bandages off his face. Jack resisted momentarily, desperately wanting to find relief from the nagging pain, but Daniel was insistent. "Leave it alone. Let the medicine do its job."

"Never again," Jack told them. He would kill every last one of them before he would let them do that to him again. "I mean it."

"Then let's hope the medicine works the first time," the woman said, the soothing tones of her voice putting Jack on edge. Even the softness of her touch had him flinching away when she ran the back of her fingers over his cheek. She was dangerous, he decided, and he wouldn't ever let his guard down again.

She sighed, and then stood up, standing quietly for a moment, before the sound of footsteps moving away told Jack that she was leaving him alone. He lay there listening to her tell the others that he was fine and to the voices of the other people giving her advice and shuffling out of the room. Daniel stayed with him though. The room had quieted down considerably, and Jack lay there in the silence, suddenly wondering what had happened to put him in his current situation. "Daniel?"

"I'm here Jack."

Jack had to smile at that. Daniel was the king of understatements of the century. But he was determined to get some answers. "What's going on here? Where are we?"

"We're in a village," Daniel responded. "I don't have a whole lot of memories about how we got out of that cave-in. Just fragments of waking up to see daylight through a hole in the wall, and of dragging you out of there." Jack wracked his mind for some of the same memories, but nothing came to him. Daniel was on a roll though, and Jack listened to the story, as Daniel knew it. "I do remember waking up a few times as we were being dragged through the desert, but even those memories are vague." Jack could certainly relate to that. His brain had been so scrambled, he couldn't even be sure he was lucid even now.

"It took us several days to get here," Daniel continued on. "I woke up a few days before we got here, with a headache from hell." He stopped for a minute, and Jack waited, wondering if he was going to finish the story. "Thank you," Daniel mumbled. Jack could hear him sipping on something, before picking up where he left off.

"You were out of it, Jack, and I'll admit that I was afraid you weren't going to make it. The people who found us took care of you though, and Reena over there seemed to be determined that you would live." Reena didn't respond, but Jack didn't need to hear her voice to know whom Daniel was talking about. Her presence alone seemed to calm Jack's unease, despite his resolve to never trust her again.

"She succeeded," he told Daniel grumpily. The ordeal he had gone through upon waking up made him wonder if his survival had been worth it.

"Yeah, she did. You belong to her, don't you know," Daniel said casually.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked incredulously. The implications that statement brought up didn't even bear thinking about. The words, "belonging to someone" and "Jack O'Neill" were never to be spoken in the same sentence as far as Jack was concerned, except when his wife had uttered them in their bed. Hearing them said on a foreign planet had his hackles up and anger building up in his heart. Not in this lifetime, he snarled inwardly.

"Calm down Jack. It's not like that. From what I gather, strangers to the village cannot live among the people in this village on their own. They must be taken in by someone in order to abide by their laws. Reena has taken you in, which means you are her responsibility." Jack still didn't like the implications of the whole thing, but Daniel didn't seem to be too worried about it, so Jack decided to give them all the benefit of the doubt. After years of working alongside the man, Jack had learned to trust Daniel's judgment.

"Leezell has taken me in," Daniel continued, breaking through Jack's inner turmoil. "And I have the freedom to come and go as I please. We just have to live in the house of the person who is sponsoring us and hope they don't change their minds about our status, as to whether or not we can do as we please."

"Whether we can do as we please?" Jack asked, the inner turmoil rising up once again. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Well," Daniel hedged, his reaction not easing Jack's mind in the least. "It's entirely up to the sponsor in terms of whether they want a slave, a friend or an adopted family member when they take someone in. Leezell wants a friend, and from what I am told, so does Reena."

"No one ever wants a slave," his sponsor spoke up, her voice coming from somewhere near the end of the bed. "A friend is much easier to live with." You got that right, Jack thought, as a small grin creased his face.

Daniel, apparently, wanted to clarify things further. "As long as we live in the village, we are the responsibility of the people who have taken us in. We can come and go as we please, but whatever we do will be a judgment on Reena and Leezell."

"Well hell, isn't that terrible?" Jack said sarcastically, his mind racing with thoughts of some good old-fashioned paybacks. His eyes still hurt from the "medicine" that woman had put in them.

"You will behave," Reena told him. Jack kept his silence at that, although he knew the evil grin on his face must have told her his thoughts. If it did, she was ignoring it. "Here," she said, as she sat back down on the bed and put her hand under his head to help him to sit up. "It's just water," she promised.

Jack knew better than to trust her with that statement. "Daniel?" he said, mentally reaching out for the only person he did trust.

"It's okay Jack. It's only water. I just had some of it, myself." Something was placed against his lips, but Jack was still hesitant. Maybe she put something in it when Daniel wasn't looking. He reached up and grabbed the cup, debating on the wisdom of drinking anything that woman offered, but his thirst for anything liquid won out. He brought the cup up to his lips and sipped at the welcomed offering. The sensation of cool water on his tongue and trickling down his throat helped him to make a final decision. He tipped his head back and drank the rest of the water, enjoying the taste of it and the relief the water brought to his parched throat.

"More," he said, deciding that if there was any poison in it, a little more wouldn't make a difference. The cup was taken from him and he listened to the sound of water being poured into it. He liked that sound. The cup was placed back into his hands and he greedily drank from it, glad that he had given in.

"You must rest," Reena said, as the cup was taken from him once again. He hated to agree with her on this, but he knew she was right. He was tired and a little nap would be just the ticket to hide from the burning ache in his eyes. He let her and Daniel help him to lie back down and he tried to relax.

An unreasonable terror raced through him when he heard another voice say, "Come Daniel. Let him rest. We will come back to see him later." Daniel didn't respond, but Jack so hoped that Daniel would tell her where to shove it and stay with him instead. He was too proud to ask though, and disappointment took over when Daniel stood up.

"You're safe here, Jack," Daniel told him. Jack didn't believe him, and even though he trusted Daniel's judgment, he was too tired to even try. He ended up keeping his silence, wishing he didn't feel so helpless.

Silence enveloped him as he lay there in the darkness, broken only by the sounds of a crackling fire and his own beating heart. Silence and fear, Jack thought, as sleep pulled at him. This was so not good.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The soothing sounds of a woman singing softly woke Jack later that day. He lay there quietly, afraid to let her know that he was awake, afraid of the darkness that made him feel like an invalid. The song she sang had a haunting melody, which Jack only half listened to. He was more interested in figuring out a plan to get away from her clutches. Blindness was only a hindrance, something he was determined to use to his advantage. He just needed to figure out how.

The singing stopped and Jack tensed up, wondering what she was up to now. He relaxed a little when he heard the sound of metal being dragged across something. It sounded almost like a lid being taking off of a pot. She was cooking something, he realized, and now that he was thinking about it, hunger hit him hard. His stomach growled loudly at the smell of the food, while Jack tried to ignore the pangs of hunger that radiated out from his empty belly.

"How are you feeling?" Reena asked, startling Jack out of his concentration on keeping a low profile. She was standing right next to him, which worried Jack. How was she able to sneak up on him like that? "I didn't mean to startle you," she said, as she sat down next to him.

Jack didn't respond. From the silence in the room, they were alone, and for some reason, he felt like he was a prisoner. He waited, instead, to see what she was going to do next.

"You have no need to be afraid of me," she said. "You are safe here." Like I believe that, Jack thought sarcastically. He continued to keep his silence though, hoping she would get up and leave him alone. He stiffened up even more, when he felt her hands on his chest, peeling away his shirt. Surely she wasn't thinking…

"The wound in your chest is healing nicely," she said, calming Jack's racing heart. For a second there, he had been seriously worried about her intentions. She poked him gently, probing around the edges of his ribs, causing him to grimace in pain, which he immediately tried to hide. "The bruising is fading, as well," she said, the soothing sound of her voice a direct contrast to the anger in Jack's heart. He definitely didn't need her poking and prodding at his injuries.

"Thanks for the prognosis," he growled at her, unable to keep quiet any longer. He pushed her away, as he tried to sit up, but weakness was another companion that Jack hated with a passion.

"Are you hungry?" Reena asked. From the tense way she asked that question, Jack could tell that she was getting angry, and he rejoiced at that thought. He was definitely getting to her and this was only a warm up. Jack could be a complete bastard when he wanted to be.

"Not if it's poison," he snarled. But then the thought of her not feeding him, had him rethinking his strategy. His stomach was protesting his actions loudly enough. Surely she had heard it.

She got up and walked away from him, and Jack found himself listening hard to figure out what she was doing. "Eat it anyway," she snapped at him from across the room. He grinned at that response, despite his unwillingness to let her see through his anger. He quickly hid the smile, then decided to give her the benefit of the doubt when she came back to sit down next to him. "It is not poisoned," she told him, as the sound of a dish being set down reached his ears. She then got up and grabbed his arm, pulling gently on it while reaching a hand behind his back to help him sit up. He finally got situated, and he sat there with his back leaned up against the wall, waiting for her to hand him the dish.

She had other ideas though, and Jack pulled back from the spoon when it touched his lips. She gave an exasperated sigh, then told him, "I swear that I didn't poison it."

"You startled me, that's all," Jack felt the need to tell her. "Damn things coming at me from nowhere… What do you expect me to do? Sit here and take it easy while the world collapses?" He knew that he was being unreasonable, but damn it all anyway. He had to gain back some control in his life before he lost everything.

"Forgive me then." Jack heard the request, but he wasn't sure he wanted to give in to everything just yet. He sat there stubbornly refusing to respond, then became indignant when he heard her giggle. Now she was laughing at him!

"I'm glad that I amuse you." Anger at her had him glaring, although he was sure she didn't care.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you are so stubborn. You remind me of my father when he is sick." Jack didn't ask for clarification, he just sat there with a rebellious look on his face. "Spoon coming in," she told him with what sounded suspiciously like enjoyment lacing her words.

"Bitch," he snarled out. The food was delicious though. He chewed on the mouthful she had given him, eating in silence, while waiting until the spoon touched his lips before opening his mouth to get another bite. She was patient with him, and he was glad for that. At least she wasn't shoveling the food in before he had swallowed what he was chewing on.

He found himself wondering about her, as the savory food filled his empty stomach. Who was she? Why would she take in a stranger? It wouldn't hurt to find out, he thought, as he swallowed his food. "Tell me about yourself," he said, just before she gave him another spoonful of his meal.

She was silent for a moment, and Jack was just about to ask again, when she spoke up. "There is not much to tell. I am a warrior. I have been for many, many years." Jack took another bite as he processed this information. That probably explained how she could sneak up on him. Most warriors were trained in the art of surprise.

"My family has always produced warriors, so it was an honor to follow in their footsteps." She continued to feed Jack as she talked of her life. "My parents were so proud when my brother and I decided to join the others in protecting our village. That was many years ago, though. My brother died a valiant death."

Jack listened to the sadness in her voice, knowing the pain of losing family members to a cause that was an important aspect of their lives. "What happened?" he found himself asking, just before she gave him another spoonful of food.

"We were in a battle with the people of the Moonchasers," she said, pride ringing out clearly in her words. "Terrin had killed two of them before he was taken down by a coward's arrow." She pressed the spoon against Jack's lips, then said, "He died a warrior's death."

"I can tell that you were very proud of him."

"Yes, very much so. It is an honor to die in battle, but it is much more preferable to die of old age." Jack smiled at that. Those were his sentiments exactly. "Do you want more?" she asked, as she got up from the bed.

"No. I'm fine, thanks." Her footsteps took her away from him, and Jack missed her nearness. He knew he should be on his guard around her, to not trust her so blindly, but still, he somehow felt alone when she was away.

"Cup," she said, as she came to sit back down next to him. Jack scowled at her, but gladly took the offered cup into his hands and drank from it. Now that his belly was full and he had quenched his thirst, he was feeling a lot better. He was still weak, but that would go away in the very near future. "How did you find us?" he asked in an effort to get her to keep talking to him.

"We were on our way back to the village when we heard the rumbling from the temple. I was among those that went to find out what had happened. We found you and your friend outside of the temple, and at first we thought you were dead. Marlan thought that perhaps you and your friend had destroyed the temple to spite us, getting hurt in the process, but Leezell and I knew better." Reena grabbed his hand, holding on to it as she continued with her words. "You are strangers to our land. The Moonchasers do not dress as you do, and your weapons are made of a metal we have never seen before." Jack was lost in the sound of her voice and the feel of her thumb methodically rubbing the skin on the back of his hand. He found himself wondering what she looked like, but immediately shook off that thought. He wasn't going to be around long enough to find out. "Leezell and I knew that you were not associated with the Moonchasers. We claimed you as ours so that we could take you back with us and to find out who had destroyed the temple."

"Did you ever find out?" Jack asked, curiosity demanding an answer, especially since he was very interested in finding out had who tried to kill him.

"No. We had hoped you would be able to tell us. Daniel disproved that hope when he woke up. But the Moonchasers have hated us for centuries and do not believe in our ways. It is possible that a few of them destroyed our temple to keep us from worshipping the God of the Two Moons, but they are wrong if they thought that we would stop because our temple was destroyed." There was that stubborn pride again, Jack thought, as he listened to her claims.

"Moonchasers, God of Two Moons. Sounds like both villages worship the same thing. Why are you enemies?"

"The Moonchasers do not worship our God," she said adamantly. Jack had to wonder at the hatred in her voice. He was so used to hearing only soothing calmness; this hatred seemed out of place for her. There was definitely a lot more about her than Jack had originally thought. "They are called Moonchasers because they believe that the Moons are evil, that the nights when both moons crest at the same time harbor ill will. They perform ceremonial dances and rites that are designed to chase away the evil brought upon our world when the moons meet in the sky. But we know better. We celebrate those nights of the year with a festival to honor the God who gave us the moons, because the moons provide us the light in which to harvest our food." She let go of Jack's hand, but stayed where she was, hopefully to finish her story. This may be Daniel's forte, but it made for some very interesting storytelling. "We will rebuild the temple and in the meantime we will have our celebrations outside the ruins. The next one will be in a few months. Perhaps you will join us when that time comes."

"Maybe," Jack replied. He hoped that he was long gone from there by that time. He figured it was only a matter of time before Teal'c and Carter found them, and even if they didn't, Jack would be able to get up and leave in a couple of days. Either way, Reena and her village would be history come this time next month.

"I've bored you," Reena said, as she stood up. "I apologize. I tend to get upset when I speak of those people."

"No. I enjoy hearing about it," Jack rushed to tell her. "Really. It's always better to know up front what I'm facing."

"Daniel tells me that you are a warrior, as well. This is good. Perhaps this means you will understand when the time comes."

"When the time comes?" This didn't sound like a good omen to Jack. "When the time comes for what?"

"Never mind," she said, sounding very much like she was embarrassed. This woman was definitely an enigma. Jack couldn't tell from one minute to the next which side of her character would come out at him.

"You planning to kill me anyway?" He didn't think she would tell him even if she was, but he still asked.

"No Jack," she said in a patronizing voice. "I do hope that you will eventually learn to trust me though. This wondering what you will accuse me of next is starting to wear thin."

This got Jack's attention. "I'll trust you when you prove to me that you won't try to kill me every chance you get," he told her stubbornly.

"Well then, I suppose that will be the day you walk out of here," she said sarcastically. She walked away from him at that, and Jack let her go. Let her wonder if she had gotten through to him, he thought rebelliously. It would do her good.

But now that he was alone, he was left to wonder about everything she had told him and he worried about the battleground he had found himself in. He was blind and weak, his body nowhere near recovered from the multitude of injuries he was riddled with, and he knew he was in no shape to even consider being a part of a battle. Yet, these people had taken him in. The woman he was staying with provided him with food and medicine, although he was quite willing to forego on the medicine, thank you very much. But her willingness to keep him alive left him with a gratitude that practically begged him to help her in any way he could.

Maybe he was worrying for nothing. Maybe he would get out before any nastiness came about. Or maybe he'd be well enough to help if the time came before he left. But then again, he should be concentrating on getting well so that he could just up and leave. Let these people deal with their own battles.

With that thought, he tried to lay back down, pain washing over him when he moved the wrong way. He was grateful for Reena's touch when she came over to help him, and he lay there when he was settled, willing the agony to go away. "You will be stronger tomorrow," Reena promised, as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Sleep now. You will be feeling better tomorrow." Jack nodded at that. He was just so tired and he wanted this whole thing to end so that he and Daniel could head back to the Stargate.

"Tell me about Daniel's injuries," he said after a few minutes.

"His arm is broken and he has many bruises, but nothing more than that. We were worried at first, because he did not regain consciousness after the first day, but when he finally did wake up, he was well enough to care for you as we made our way back to the village. He was luckier than you were."

"Doesn't that always seem to be the case," Jack groused. But something she had said didn't make sense. "I only remember you taking care of me. I don't remember Daniel being there at all."

"I admit that I was a little more involved in your care, but Daniel helped. He cares very much for you."

Jack nodded. He and Daniel had become close friends over the past few years. He cared a lot about Daniel, too.

"You need your rest," Reena told him. "I'll be over by the fire if you need anything." She left him then, while Jack lay there listening to her movements. He gave up after awhile, when he became too tired to care. Despite his fears of falling asleep, he dozed off and on, before finally giving in to the lure of his dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Several days had gone by, with Jack getting crankier by the minute at the injustice of having to stay in bed over a long period of time. He hadn't minded it so much at first because he had slept through most of it. But now that he was awake for the entire day, restlessness kept him from taking it easy as he lay there in the bed. It didn't help matters any that he was still blind as a bat and every time he had ventured out of the bed, he was still dealing with battered ribs and a chest wound that ached with every movement, not to mention having to learn where to step without nearly killing himself by tripping over some item of furniture, or something else equally menacing.

Daniel had come by to visit every chance he got, but it was not enough for Jack. He wanted to be out there right alongside his friend, working on the house Daniel was helping to build. Anything had to be better than being stuck in Reena's house, with anger and frustration at the entire situation eating away at him.

Jack was sitting on the very bed he had learned to hate during the last couple of days, wondering what he was going to trip over this time. Reena had taken the time to explain the layout of the entire room for him, telling him where everything was and helping him make his way from one end of it to the other so that he would avoid those falls, but he still seemed to find something to trip over anyway. It turned out that Reena's house was basically what historians on Earth would call a one-room cabin. In fact, from what Daniel had told him, all the houses in the village were set up pretty much the same. Some of the families that had more than one child had extensions built on, but the majority of the houses were built for efficiency more than anything else.

But for the time being, Jack was only interested in the layout of the one he was currently living in. He debated on the wisdom of getting up to walk over to the door, but knew he would be dealing with an irate female warrior when his roommate found out. That woman could be such a harridan, Jack thought fondly. He had grown to admire her throughout the last few days. They'd had plenty of time to learn about each other, as she spent a lot of time with him during the worst of his illness, and Jack was looking forward to seeing what she actually looked like.

His hands moved up to touch the bandages that were still around his eyes, feeling the edges of it as he thought about his new friend. They had settled into a comfortable companionship after the initial mistrust he had harbored, and he found that she wasn't as bad as his mistrust wanted her to be. She was a warrior, used to taking control and relying on her own wits to survive, yet she also had a feminine side to her personality that begged to be treated as such. She was a puzzle that Jack enjoyed talking to. One of these days all the pieces of the puzzle would fall into place and Jack would finally know the real Reena. But then again, he had plans to leave her accommodations as soon as possible, which meant he may never really get to understand her that well.

Still, the bandages would be removed in a couple of days, and Jack wasn't so sure he wanted them to be. He was afraid that after all he went through to heal his eyes, he still would be blind. And worse, Reena had told him that if he was still blind, she wanted to try the medication once again. He had adamantly told her where she could shove that stuff, but she just sighed and told him that all their fighting on the subject may be in vain. The first dose had probably already healed the injury to his eyes.

He certainly hoped so. He had learned to appreciate all of his senses as he relied on them to help in his dark world. He had been taught to rely on them when he had gone through the training for Special Ops, but it wasn't until he was blinded that he really understood that training.

He resisted the urge to pull off the bandages, and sat there wondering what Dr. Fraiser would think of the medicine he had been given. She would have been appalled. Jack had no formal medical training, whatsoever, but even he knew that blindness stemming from a blow to the head could quite possibly have healed on its own. He and Daniel had both argued with Reena and her friends on this subject, Daniel more so than Jack, but Reena was adamant that the medicine was the only way to ensure his sight would return, and now that the burning pain was gone, Jack figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. He had learned a long time ago to never underestimate alien technology, even in its most primitive state. Besides, if the medicine was going to do any damage, it had to have already done so. He would just wait until the time came to take the bandages off, before he made any decisions on what he would do next.

In the meantime, he was bored with just sitting on the bed.

Get up Jack, he told himself firmly. Just get up and do it. Easier said than done, he realized. But he had things to do, and sitting here wasn't going to help him get it done. He stood up from the bed, and stayed for a moment, getting his bearings and gathering up his courage. He could do this.

He took a few steps away from the bed, his hands held out in front of him, moving them back and forth in the vicinity of his waist, looking for anything that could possibly get in the way. He made it all the way to the fireplace without any mishaps, and he smiled in triumph when he felt the smooth wood of the mantle beneath his fingers.

Using his fingers as a guide, he felt his way along the mantle, then down to a small table that he knew was there, fumbling along the items on the table until he found what he was looking for. He picked up the small bag, before making his way back the same way he had come, using the mantel as a guide to the point where he knew he had a straight shot back to the bed without falling over anything.

Once he was back on the bed, he sat on it for a minute, thinking about his accomplishment and trying to ignore the pain in his chest that was making it almost impossible to breathe. He had made the whole trip in one shot without tripping over anything. It was a major accomplishment, as far as Jack was concerned. His next goal was to make it to the door for some fresh air. Maybe he'd be able to talk Reena or Daniel into helping him do it.

His heart finally settled down, which eased the pain in his chest, and Jack picked up the bag he had just climbed Mt. Everest to get. Actually, he figured Mt. Everest was probably a piece of cake compared to what he had just gone through, anything had to be a piece of cake compared to that. He reached into the bag and pulled out an arrowhead. Reena had a ton of them all over the place, and after putting up with a cranky and aggravated Jack one night, she had set out to finding as many as she could so that he would have something to do other than to bitch at her.

The arrowhead was smooth and rounded at the ends, not a very effective arrowhead since it wouldn't even pierce a stick of butter. Reena got the bright idea that Jack could be put to work sharpening the arrowheads, and Jack had to agree with her. It was a monotonous job, and clearly something a man of Jack's experience wouldn't be expected to do, but it did give his hands something to do as he waited out the endless days of darkness. With the arrowhead in one hand and a sharpening stone in the other, Jack went to work. He sat there on the bed he shared with Reena, sharpening arrowheads, while his mind worked on possible solutions to all of his problems.

And he had quite a few problems. There were his feelings of helplessness that he dealt with on an hourly basis. He worried about Daniel, who was becoming very attached to his "sponsor", Leezell. He wondered about the rumors of war he had heard when Reena's friends came over to visit. He was having a hard time understanding why it was taking Teal'c and Carter so long to find them. And he worried about his own feelings toward the woman who had taken him in.

She was a beautiful person, despite the fact that he had never seen her face. Her "never say die" attitude had been a welcome relief on the days he had wanted to give up. Her optimism was something Jack could relate to, as well as the warrior mentality that they both shared. But there was also the attraction Jack felt toward her. He didn't need the emotional baggage that came with that attraction. He would be leaving here as soon as he was able, and already he hated what leaving would do to him.

The arrowhead he was working on was still not sharp enough, he realized, as he ran his finger over the tip of it. He couldn't see it, but he had learned by feel what he wanted, and he continued his work, not willing to finish until he was happy with the final product. His relationship with Reena was like that, he realized. He owed her his life, and he didn't want to hurt her, but he would be leaving soon, and he worried that she might be hurt when he did.

Of course, he couldn't be sure. She had never given him any indication one way or the other about how she felt for him, Yet every night she would crawl into bed with him, as it was the only one in the house, and they would wake up in the morning with her snuggled up against him, more often than not with her arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly to her. Jack was not up for sex, and he wouldn't take advantage of her hospitality by initiating it even if he could. But he was left wondering about her feelings toward him when she'd wake up and touch his face softly, before getting up to make breakfast. She had wanted to be friends, Daniel had told him that the very first day, but Jack still couldn't help but wonder.

The arrowhead he was working on was finally ready, and he placed it down on the bed next to him, before picking up another one. He continued working as he puzzled over his life and what it had been reduced to, while in the back of his mind, he wondered where Reena was and what she was doing.

* * *

She showed up several hours later. Jack still had a few more arrowheads to work on, but he was more than ready to abandon the job. It had been a long several hours.

"I see you've been busy," Reena said, as she came to stand next to Jack. Jack nodded, his mood had become as black as the darkness that plagued his vision by the time she had returned. He continued to sharpen the arrowhead he was currently working on as Reena walked away. She came back a few seconds later to gather up the finished ones and put them in a box. Jack heard the arrowheads hit the wood, but he continued to work on the one he had in his hand. He had been sitting there all afternoon sharpening HER arrowheads, while SHE was out gallivanting around, leaving him no recourse but to wait until she decided to grace him with her presence.

He hated being trapped and helpless like this.

"Are you hungry?" The happiness in her voice grated on Jack's nerves, but he didn't respond. He continued to work, wondering what she would do if he just got up and slapped the crap out of her. He knew he would never do that though. So he sat there, angrily working on the freaking arrowhead, while Reena moved freely about the room.

"I'll warm up some stew," she told him warily. She was starting to worry, Jack realized, but he was too angry to really care. "Jack?"

"Yeah," he said, trying hard to keep his tone neutral and failing miserably at the attempt. The arrowhead still wasn't ready, so he went back to sharpening, keeping his silence as he heard her doing her thing next to the fireplace. The silence in the room hung heavily over their heads, but Jack was not willing to break it.

He tensed up when she walked toward him, and then sat down next to him on the bed. He still wouldn't speak to her, knowing that he would say something harsh if he did. He owed her his life, he reminded himself sternly.

They sat there for a few minutes, while Jack continued sharpening the stone. He was facing forward, and he knew she was facing him. He could feel her breath on his cheek. "You don't have to sit so close," he told her. He had wanted to let her know that he was well aware of exactly what she was doing at that moment, but it came out sounding like he didn't want her near him. He knew it the moment the words came out, making him feel bad when she turned away from him.

"I apologize," she said, the hurt in her voice blazing out like an accusation to Jack. But he didn't say anything else. He was better off keeping his thoughts to himself. "You're angry with me," she announced, as if that was the revelation of the century. Jack stopped sharpening and felt along the edge of the stone, refusing to incriminate himself further by responding to her statement.

"Talk to me, Jack. What is it that has made you angry?"

Just a little more, Jack thought, as he went back to getting the sharpest point. He knew he was avoiding Reena's question, but his anger was threatening to overflow, and he knew from experience that she would lose in the end if it did. He would inevitably hurt her just as he had hurt others when they had tried to break through his blackest moods. She was better off if he didn't answer, even if she didn't realize it.

She got up after a few minutes of silence, wisely deciding to leave him alone. Jack listened intently, needing to know her every movement, as well as if she would head back out the door. He heard her by the fireplace, and he relaxed a little, glad that she hadn't left him.

The arrowhead was finally finished, but Jack held on to it for lack of something else to do with his hands, as he concentrated on the noise that surrounded him. The sounds of cooking and dishes being placed on the table were welcome sounds for Jack. They spoke of familiarity and home, which helped him to calm down even more. He spun the arrowhead around in his fingers as he listened intently to Reena making the evening meal. He had definitely missed her when she was gone.

"Will you come sit with me?" Reena asked with a wary tone. He nodded, then placed both feet on the floor intending to get up. It took a moment of standing still to ease the ache in his chest, but he was on his feet and he let her help him make his way to the table, which was situated directly across from the door. He sat down on the chair she had led him to, placing the arrowhead down on the table so that he would be able to pick up the spoon. Reena placed a bowl in front of him and they ate their meal in silence.

Jack had to admit that he was feeling better, as he sat back and pushed his bowl away. "I will put these away," he heard Reena say as she picked up the arrowhead he'd been working on, as well as his bowl. She bustled about while Jack sat there feeling like such a heel for treating her so badly.

"Where did you go today?" he finally asked. It wasn't what he had really wanted to say, but he waited for her response all the same.

"I have missed out on many training sessions while you were sick," she told him, the warmth in her voice telling him that she was gearing up for one of her favorite subjects. "I've missed working with the others as we train for future battles. And today was a good session. I was able to best Leezell in the hand-to-hand combat arena." Jack nodded quietly, as he heard the pride in her voice. He was glad that she had something she enjoyed doing. "Leezell tried to make excuses, but I wouldn't let her," she continued happily. "I told her that she was just being a poor loser."

"Bet she didn't like that," Jack commented, remembering how arrogant the woman seemed to be whenever she came for a visit.

"No, she didn't, but since it was a clear win, she couldn't do anything about it." She came over to take Jack's arm, tugging on it to encourage him to stand, and Jack stood up to let her lead him back to the bed. "She has challenged me to another duel," she confided to Jack. "I will win that one, as well."

"I'm sure you will." They reached the bed and Jack sat down on it, suddenly wishing there was more to his life than what he could find in this little room. Reena made to leave, but Jack grabbed her arm and pulled her down to sit next to him. She sat there, with Jack holding on to her arm, not willing to let go just yet. He sat there facing her, wishing desperately to see her face. "What do you look like?"

He had apparently hit a nerve. She immediately tensed up, the muscles in her arm tightening as he waited for the answer. But he was determined to find out, so he reached up to find her face, wondering if he could tell by tracing her features with his fingers. He had heard that other blind people could do this, but he wasn't sure if he would know from feel alone.

"I am very plain," she said, as she jerked away from his touch, the happiness she had displayed earlier strangely absent from her voice. "You would probably think that I am quite ugly." Jack didn't think he would ever consider her ugly, but then again, he really hadn't seen her face. He touched her cheek, glad that she let him do it this time. His fingers glided along the skin, feeling the smoothness of it, which told him that she was younger than he was. His fingers moved along her jaw, resting for a moment on her chin, then tracing the jaw line to the other side of her face. "Jack," she said, her voice trembling with what Jack thought might be fear. "Please understand. I have been a warrior for a long time."

"I know," he whispered, as his fingers moved across her cheek then followed the ridge along her nose. It had been broken once, judging by the small bump he encountered, and he smiled softly, thinking of all the times he thought his nose had been broken. He brought his other hand up to help in the exploration of her face, and was surprised by the wetness he encountered. "What's wrong?" he asked, worried that he may have hurt her.

"Nothing," she said, although her tears belied that statement.

"Beautiful," he whispered, as his fingers moved up and over her closed eyes. He wiped away another tear that was rolling down her cheek, then moved his fingers upward toward her forehead.

"Jack," she said, her voice breaking on a sob. "Please."

He stopped then, really worried now. "What is it? Did I hurt you?" He couldn't see how that could happen, but she was an alien. Maybe his touch burned her skin or something. He pulled away at that thought, hoping against hope that she would survive whatever he had done to her.

"No," she said, as she grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands back up to touch her face. "I'm just… I'm worried that you will finally see me for what I am."

Okay, this didn't bode well. "What are you?" Jack asked, suddenly worried that she had snakes for hair, or something else equally nasty.

"I am a human, just as you are," she said, and Jack was glad to hear the amusement in her voice, not to mention the joy of finding out she wasn't an alien monster. He began his exploration once again, while she began to tell him what she was really afraid of. "I was fifteen when I was chosen to be a warrior," she told him, as Jack's fingers moved back up toward her forehead. Her skin was so soft, like a smooth peach, and he wondered again just how old she was. "My parents were so proud. But we all knew the risks. A person didn't go into battle without the danger of death or injuries."

Jack listened to her story as his fingers traced over her eyebrows. He had already come to the conclusion that she really was very pretty, but he also knew what she was going to tell him next. The fingers of his right hand skimmed over the scar, tracing the thick ridge from her hairline to an area just below her left temple.

"I was eighteen when we met up with a band of Moonchasers who were stealing food from one of our neighboring villages. We chased them into the mountains, but they had doubled back and ambushed us before we even knew what had happened." The wound must have been pretty bad to produce such a big scar, Jack thought, as he traced his way back up to the hairline on her forehead. She was lucky she had lived through it. Anger raced through him as he thought about the guy who did this to her.

"We fought back," Reena continued on, "But one of the rebels grabbed me and we fought a hard battle before one of my fellow warriors came to my rescue. The Moonchaser was dead before he even hit the ground." Jack could relate to the bitter, angry tone in her voice. He had known many times when he had been glad an enemy was dead. He brought his fingers back down to her cheeks, glad to find that her tears were no longer flowing, then made his way to the one destination he had been avoiding.

Her lips quivered as he traced the shape of them with his thumbs. "Beautiful," he said again, wondering once again what her thoughts of him were. He decided against kissing her to find out. He wasn't sure if she would knock him out for even trying.

"Just wait until the bandages come off," Reena advised with a shaky laugh. Jack was so close to giving into his desires when her lips moved against this thumbs as she spoke, but he tamped down on those desires. Instead he moved his fingers down to her chin, then to her throat, tracing the lines of her collarbones, before finally stopping his exploration by grasping her shoulders and staring into the darkness at the place where he thought her face was.

"I can't wait," he said huskily. Oh God, he definitely couldn't wait.

"A few more days," she said. "Just don't expect to be able to see clearly right away. It sometimes takes another week before the vision clears up completely."

Jack didn't care how long it would take, so long as he could see. "How about we take them off tomorrow?" he had to ask. It didn't hurt to try.

"The day after tomorrow," she insisted, as she stood up to move away. "We can't let any light get into your eyes any sooner than that." She had been walking away from him, but she stopped suddenly, and said, "Promise me, Jack. The day after tomorrow."

"Okay," he grumbled, wondering how she knew what he had been thinking. "The day after tomorrow. I promise."

"Good," he heard her say, as she continued on her way. She was cleaning up, he realized, as he heard the tinkling of the dishes and the splashing of water. That was his next goal, he decided. He could at least help with the dishes until his vision cleared up completely. And it would, he thought, as the sounds of his roommate cleaning up drifted over to him. It had to.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The sleeping arrangements were not working out. Jack was on his side, his back to the woman who shared his bed, desperately trying to think of anything other than the woman who was plastered against his back with her arm draped over his side. He wanted her. She couldn't possibly expect anything else, and he was at a loss when he tried to figure out why she would think he could do this.

The last two nights were pure agony for Jack. Not as bad as the medicine they had put in his eyes, but he still hurt in places he was still trying not to think about. And what was worse, Reena didn't have a clue as to what she was doing to him. She was of the opinion that he wouldn't want a scarred woman that way, and that they were just friends who also happened to be sharing a bed. Well, he had a major news flash for her. He was also human.

His thoughts went back to the other night when he had finally discovered her secret. He remembered vividly how his fingers had explored her features by tracing over the flaws and the perfections that had him wishing he could see for himself what she really looked like. He had tried to ignore his desires ever since then, but to no avail. Sleeping in the same bed with her had become his own personal nightmare.

He trembled a little when she sighed in her sleep, her breath skimming over the back of his neck. Think of something else, O'Neill, he demanded silently. Think about home. The Simpsons. Hockey would be good. Yeah, hockey should do the trick. He tried to remember something about the sport he loved more than anything, but right now he was lucky he could even remember what a hockey stick was used for.

He had to get up. Getting away from the fire was the best way to keep from getting burned. He moved slowly, careful not to wake her, and he was pleased to find that he still had it in him to get out of tight situations without getting caught. Her breathing hadn't changed, which meant she was still asleep, but Jack was now stuck with nowhere to go. He concentrated on his current position and on his destination, setting his bearings as he planned his route.

One step, two steps… "Jack?" said a sleepy voice, causing Jack to freeze on the spot. "What's the matter?"

Damn it, he got caught.

"Gotta take a leak," he grouched. What the heck did he do wrong, anyway? He had just failed Sneaking Out of Tight Situations 101, and he could only hope his old Special Ops buddies never found out.

"Mmm," she mumbled, as the bedding rustled. She was settling back in, he realized, which eased his mind a bit. "Do you need help?" she asked.

Holy crap! The images that statement brought up had Jack sweating. "No," he said, proud that his voice held steady. "I've been doing this by myself for some time now." She didn't respond, which had him hoping that she had gone back to sleep, but he said the words anyway, just in case. "Go back to sleep now. I'll be okay."

Silence. Jack hoped that meant she was out of it again. He went back to studying his surroundings in his mind, planning his next moves to avoid as many obstacles as possible. He took several steps with his arms placed strategically at waist length, and was quite proud of himself when he made it to the door without a single mishap.

He opened the door, savoring the cool breeze that swept across his face, and he stepped out so that he could close the door behind him. The night air was chilly, but felt good to a man who had spent a whole week inside a small one-room cabin. He used his hands to find the wall of the house, following it along a few steps until he ran into what felt like a bench when he explored the edges of it. He sat down on it, leaning his head back against the wall, and wondered what he was missing out on. He could hear the sounds of the night as most of the villagers slept, but he wanted to see it. His nostrils picked up on the smell of smoke that drifted down to him from the houses in the area, as well as the smells brought to him by the winds, smells of flowers and other plants that grew in the area. And a cool dampness settled on his face as he sat there wishing he had his sight back.

He sat there for a long time, dwelling on thoughts and regrets of days long gone. His body had cooled down, the combination of the cool night air along with the memories the sounds of the night brought back to him had worked like a cold shower. All was quiet inside Jack, a feeling that was a nice touch to a long day.

The door opened sometime later, bringing him out of a particularly nice memory. He didn't turn toward the sound, as he wouldn't have been able to see her anyway. Reena came over and sat down next to him, silence wrapping itself around them.

They sat that way until Reena linked her arms through his, and laid her head on his shoulder. "Will you tell me what is wrong?"

Jack didn't know what to tell her. The truth would probably get him in trouble, and he didn't want to start lying to her. So he settled on a noncommittal response. "Couldn't sleep."

"Are you worried that your blindness is permanent?"

He didn't respond right away. That was so far from the truth that he was surprised she would think that, although now that she had brought it up…

"Yeah, a little." It was the truth to some extent. He HAD been sitting there wishing he could see.

"We will try the medicine again if it doesn't work this time," she said.

"No we won't!" If there was one thing Jack was determined would never happen, it was another treatment for his eyes. He'd rather be blind.

She didn't respond, which was a good thing. Jack was not up for another argument on that topic. A few more minutes of silence went by, while he planned his next move. He had to do something about the sleeping arrangements.

"I was thinking of making a bed on the floor," he said, knowing that it would be the only way he would get any sleep.

Reena tensed, then let go of his arm as she straightened up next to him. She didn't say anything, which worried Jack. What was going through her mind?

"I feel like I'm intruding on you," he added, hoping to make this easier for them both. "We'd both be more comfortable this way." Still no response, and Jack was really getting worried. "Reena?"

She got up and left him sitting there.

Well, that went well, Jack thought sarcastically. He figured he should get up and go talk to her, but a part of him was afraid to. He sat there for a moment more, then stood up, reaching behind him to find the wall so that he could make his way back into the house.

The room was silent when he entered. "Reena?" he called out. It would make things so much easier if he knew where she was. No response. Damn it, Jack thought. "Come on Reena, can't we talk about this?"

He heard a sniffle to his left, and he swung around to face that direction. She must be on the bed, he thought as he took a tentative step forward. "I don't mind the floor," he told her, as he took a few more steps toward the bed. "I've slept on worse."

She was crying, he realized with horror, when the sound of a soft sob came from the direction he was headed toward. He hadn't meant to make her cry. "Aw, come on. Don't do that," he said, as his feet brought him closer to the bed. "I didn't mean to make you cry." He heard her clear her throat, but nothing was said, so he gave in. "It was just a suggestion. We'll share the bed."

"No, you don't have to," she said, her voice shaking as she tried to hide the fact that she was crying. "I'll find some blankets for you."

A few more steps and Jack bumped into something. He used his hands to determine what it was, and then moved around the chest to continue on his journey. "I don't want you to be hurt." He wished he knew what her problem was. All he had asked for was another place to sleep. It's not that he didn't like being around her, he just wanted some peace from his raging desires.

"I am fine," she said. Jack knew better. She was having a hard time hiding the fact that she was crying. He could hear it in her voice.

He took a few more steps, then was surprised when Reena grabbed his hand and pulled him forward. He nearly fell on top of her from the quickness of her movements, but he was able to stop his fall and he moved around so that he could sit down on the bed next to her. He reached for her, only to discover that she had turned and was sitting with her back to him. He sighed, then rubbed his hand over her back, trying desperately to think of something to say that would make everything all right for her. Nothing really good came to mind.

"I'm sorry," he told her. She sniffed, then cleared her throat as she tried to speak over her tears. Jack waited for her to get a grip, while at the same time thinking about forcing her to let him hold her. He waited, and wished he had never brought up the subject.

She took a deep breathe and let it out slowly, then turned toward him, the bed shifting as she did so. "It's all right," she said brightly. Jack was not fooled. He reached for her face, and swiped at the tears that were still falling at a steady pace. She pulled away, then sniffed once more before saying, "It will be better this way." Her voice broke on the end of the sentence, and Jack grabbed her arm just as she started to stand.

"Come here," he said, as he tugged on her arm. She resisted at first, but he was insistent and she moved into his arms, pressing her face into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He held her tightly while she cried, her sobs breaking his heart. "I'm sorry," he told her again, as his fingers threaded through her hair and he pulled her closer to his heart. "Shhh. Please don't cry."

He held her close, going over everything he had said, trying to pinpoint exactly what it was that had brought her to this. He couldn't think of anything, but it gave him something to ponder over as he crooned softly to the woman who wept in his arms.

Her tears finally abated, yet Jack was reluctant to let her go. He still hadn't figured out what had started the waterfall, but it felt good to hold her like this. She took the matter out of his hands when she pulled away and sniffled as she sat next to him.

"I'll just go get the blankets," she said.

"No. We won't need them. We have enough on the bed for both of us."

If Jack thought that all was settled, he was sadly mistaken. He gave a disheartened sigh when she got up and moved away from him. "It's all right, Jack. I understand. But I'll sleep on the floor. You are not completely healed, and it would be better if you slept on the bed."

"Reena…"

"Here is a blanket that I usually use during the winter," she said, as something heavy was dropped on his lap. He ran his hand across the blanket, as she went on with her chatter. "It will probably be too warm to sleep under, but it's better than nothing."

"Reena. Stop, please."

"I think there may be a pillow in here somewhere. If not, my mother has several. I will get one from her tomorrow."

Jack sat there with the blanket in his lap, wondering what he should do. He had hurt her and he didn't have a clue as to how to fix things. She came over to take the blanket, and Jack reached out to grab her wrists.

"I'm sorry," he said again, wishing he knew what it was he was apologizing for. She didn't resist when he pulled her over to the bed, and he turned toward her when she sat down next to him.

They sat there in silence for a moment, while Jack tried to think of something to say that wouldn't cause more damage. She beat him to it though, the softness of her voice reminding him of the days when he was battling the fever that raged through him. "I understand why you would not want to be near me, Jack. Many of the other men in the village feel the same way that you do and I have learned to live with it. It's just that I thought that maybe you didn't mind my disfigurement, that maybe…"

Her words trailed off, leaving Jack in a state of shock. He sat there reeling with the thought that she really believed he was disgusted with her looks. Her insecurities were keeping her from believing anything else and he wanted so desperately to help her, but he worried that she would think he was patronizing her if he tried.

"I know that I am not beautiful," she continued, "But I thought that maybe you wouldn't mind – that you were not…" she stopped speaking at that, apparently unable to finish.

Jack waited out the silence, wondering what he could say to help her win back her confidence. He reached out to touch her, his fingers feeling the smoothness of her skin as they landed on her cheek. "I don't think you are ugly…"

"Yet you don't want me to get too close to you."

"That's true," Jack mused, then realized he had said that out loud. Great, he thought sarcastically, as she tried to pull away from him. He grabbed her arm with his other hand, then hastily tried to amend his words. "But not in the way you think. I don't think you are ugly, and I'm not repulsed by your scar. I just… well…" Talk about embarrassing, Jack thought, as he tried to figure out a way to ease her fears without sounding like a hormonal teenager.

"I understand Jack."

"No. No you don't. Look Reena, you are beautiful to me. I wish I could make you understand that. It's just that I… I don't want to hurt you." He sighed then, knowing he wouldn't share his desires with her. He couldn't take advantage of her when he knew he wouldn't be hanging around once he regained his health. He sat there, rubbing the pads of his fingers over her arm, his own heart breaking over his inability to help her. He just didn't know how without hurting her even more.

She didn't respond. Jack could hear her sniffling, but no words of comfort or anger was uttered. He couldn't see her face to determine her reaction, so he was left to wonder just what she was thinking. Was she thinking of killing him? Or worse, leaving him to his own defenses, what little he had left. His thoughts were drifting toward the inevitable loneliness that he always dealt with when a relationship failed, so he was surprised when she leaned into him and kissed him.

The kiss ended, and still no response from Reena, but at least she wasn't planning on killing him for hurting her so badly with his words. He reached out for her, grateful that she hadn't left and found her shoulder, his hand moving upward until his fingers rested against her cheek. "So beautiful," he muttered, as his fingers moved to her lips. Her features shifted under his fingertips as she smiled, and he couldn't help but grin back at her. "Can we do that again?"

He didn't have to ask twice. She kissed him again, while Jack brought his other hand up and threaded it through her hair, pulling her closer to him as he did so. She was warm and soft, and all he wanted to do was find out what the rest of her body looked like. He pulled back and grinned at that thought. He would definitely have a lot of fun learning everything there was to learn about his new friend.

She grabbed his hand and pulled it up so that he could touch the scar on her forehead. Jack spread his fingers out through her hair as he ran his thumb over the scar, learning every inch of it, while she told him, "This is not the only scar that I have."

Jack had to smile at that one. "I've got quite a few of my own."

"I know." Her voice had taken on a sultry tone that was nearly Jack's undoing, and he actually thought about just chucking everything and give into the desires that were threatening to incinerate him into a pile of ashes. But he owed her more than just a "roll in the hay". He wouldn't be the one to hurt her if he could help it.

He was trying to come up with a decent reason why they shouldn't take this relationship further, when she kissed him once again. He was only human, he rationalized, as he probed at her lips with his tongue. He kissed her passionately, his hands roaming downward, until she pulled back, leaving him feeling a little bereft. "We will wait until after the bandages come off. Then you can decide if you still want to share my bed for reasons other than for sleeping."

Was he that transparent? Jack had to wonder what it was that had tipped her off; he certainly hadn't told her a thing. Yet, he was glad that she finally understood what the problem was. At least she wasn't thinking he was repulsed by her looks. "I don't want to hurt you." he told her. "I'll be leaving here soon."

"I am aware of that."

There really wasn't much to say after that. They were both adults… at least he hoped she was an adult. The implications of that thought had him worrying as he realized he really didn't know how old she was. Holy crap, what if she was still a teenager?

Reena must have picked up on his panic. "What is it? Are you ill?"

"No. No, I'm just… Just how old are you anyway?"

"I am old enough, Jack." She was laughing at him again, which was nice to hear. He liked the sound of her laugh.

"I will sleep on the floor for the rest of the night," she told him, as she stood up. "You need your rest. Tomorrow will be busy day for us."

"No way. You are not sleeping on the floor. My mother would be scandalized at the very thought of her son taking a bed while a woman slept on the floor." She bristled audibly at that, but Jack didn't give her a chance to berate him over it. "Besides, I've made my bed on the ground more times than you can ever imagine. Let me sleep on the floor."

Her silence had Jack worrying again. "You're not crying again, are you?"

"No," she said with a small chuckle. The sound was music to his ears. At least she wasn't going to fall apart on him again. He didn't think he could handle more tears. "I was just thinking that perhaps we could still share the bed. I could use the extra blankets to build a wall between us so that we could share the bed without "sharing" the bed."

Jack wasn't so sure that this would solve his problem, but if it would help in boosting her self-esteem, it was worth a try. He was willing to go through anything to help her, even if "anything" was going to be his own personal hell. He refused to even try to dwell on the reasons why. "I'm willing to give it a try. The only reason I wanted to sleep somewhere else was because I was this close to taking advantage of you." He smiled then, hoping to alleviate the tension in the room. "I didn't want you to end up beating the crap out of me like you did to Leezell."

"I am sure you would have done a better job of defending yourself than Leezell did. I think she has fallen for your friend Daniel and was thinking about him, instead of what I was doing."

"Oh yeah?" Jack said, grinning broadly at the thought of Daniel trying to control that woman. That would be one hell of a show.

"Yes. And I think that Daniel feels the same way for her. They make a wonderful pair."

Jack nodded his head, now wondering if he should have a talk with Daniel. Reena interrupted his thoughts as she took the blanket from him and sat down next to him to arrange it. He sat there, inwardly debating on the wisdom of his decision. He wanted nothing more than to prove that she was wrong about him, that he could look past her disfigurement, but in doing so, he would be putting himself back in the hot seat again, even with a "wall" between them. Was he strong enough to help her get past her fears? He had to be, he decided. He owed her much more than that.

"That should do it," she told him, as she straightened up. "This way we will share the bed without touching." Jack wanted to protest that remark, but thought better of it. He reached out to see what she had done, and ran his hand over the lump that ran down the middle of the bed. It could possibly work, he figured. She could hug the blankets instead of him.

Jack lay down and ended up on his back, then had to wait until she got settled before he could relax. "Go to sleep Jack," she told him softly. "Tomorrow will be a big day for you."

"Yeah," he responded. "Tomorrow I finally get to see what you look like."

She was silent for a moment, then whispered, "I hope you are not too disappointed."

"I won't be." No matter what, she would never be ugly to him. She was way too beautiful on the inside for him to ever be disappointed. "I adore you already," he told her, although he regretted the words once they were spoken. If only it wasn't the truth.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This is all that I have ready to post for now. But posting it has worked in getting me geared up to write more, so I'm grateful to you all for reading and for reviewing. Thank you!!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Jack felt like a kid at Christmas. He was sitting at the table, impatiently waiting for Reena to do the honors of taking his bandages off. He was way too antsy to wait until after breakfast, especially since Reena hadn't even started making it. The bandages were definitely gong to come off that morning, but for some reason, the morning didn't want to progress fast enough.

"Can't you just do it now?" he asked, not even the least bit ashamed that he was begging. Despite his worries that he would still be blind, he still needed to know. And he had kept the bandages on long enough. She should be glad that he had waited as long as he had.

"Would you like to eat first?" Reena asked from across the room. Jack was sure he heard the amusement behind her words, but he had no intention of waiting.

"How can you think of food at a time like this?" he teased, even as he reached up to touch the bandages. He could just as easily take them off, and he was tired of waiting. Reena had other ideas though. He nearly jumped out of his seat when she suddenly placed a bowl on the table and grabbed his wrists, pulling his hands away from his face.

"Let me do that," she told him. "It's better if it is done slowly."

Jack yanked his hands from her grasp, sitting back with a scowl on his face. "I am quite capable of doing things on my own," he told her peevishly. "And stop sneaking up on me like that!"

"I did not sneak up on you, and yes, you are. But I will be the one to help you with this." She stood next to him, her hands pulling on the knots that were tied tightly around his head. Jack sat there inhaling her scent, a mixture of soap and smoke that mingled with something sweet smelling. It was a scent he was used to, having spent many days in her home, being catered to when he was sick, and when she was cuddled up to him at night. He knew that scent and he smiled sadly when he realized once again that he was going to miss being around this woman who smelled so wonderful.

She had finally loosened the knots, and was slowly unraveling the cloth. "The medicine has worked for many people," she told him, as she used both arms to unwind the bandages. I am sure that it will work for you."

"I hope so." He wasn't sure what he would do if it didn't. He'd be out of a job the minute he stepped through the Stargate and onto the welcome mat at the SGC. That's not going to happen, he determined, as he sat there waiting for Reena to finish what she was doing. Think positive here. It's not going to happen.

The soft tones of Reena's voice broke into Jack's fears, calming him. He sat there, waiting for the final bandages to be removed, suddenly not as anxious as he was earlier. "Almost there," she told him in her soothing tone. "I'm going to take off the inner bandages, but you must keep your eyes closed. There will still be some medicine that needs to be cleaned off before you can open your eyes." Jack nodded his head slightly, and tried to smile at her, but he was too worried about the next few minutes to succeed. "You don't want the medicine to get in your eyes again."

Jack had to agree wholeheartedly with that statement, and he vowed he wouldn't open his eyes for any reason until she had washed every bit of it off his face. He sat there quietly, feeling something tug against his skin. It felt almost as if they had taped the bandages to his eyes, but Jack couldn't be sure. Did these people even know what tape was?

"One done," she told him in that soft, soothing tone. Jack waited as she pulled the other one off, keeping his eyes closed against the possibility of any of the remaining medicine getting in, while a mixture of worry and anticipation wormed its way through his mind. The second bandage finally came off and she left him alone for a moment. The sound of water dripping into a bowl reached his ears, and he waited for her to do something about the remaining medicine. A warm cloth was then placed against his eyes, stayed there for a moment until Reena began wiping away the remnants of the evil concoction they had whipped up and put into his eyes. She wiped the cloth across his eyes, seeming to get into every nook and cranny in her efforts to wash it all off. Jack enjoyed the feel of the cloth, as she tenderly scrubbed his face. The sounds of her voice and the smell of her skin when she leaned in closer to him had him thinking of the kisses they shared the night before. He couldn't wait to see what she looked like.

"Open your eyes Jack."

He slowly opened his eyes and tried to see past the darkness that still plagued him. Sadness and anger plowed into his mind, as he struggled to see past the shadows that danced in his line of vision. But then realized that he could see shadows, which meant that he was seeing something and this thought had him straining to see past the blurry shadows.

"Jack?" She was right in front of him, he could tell by her voice, but all he could see was a shape that could be a head. She has dark hair, he thought as he squinted his eyes in hopes of seeing her more clearly. She moved in closer to his face, and he found himself looking into a pair of the greenest eyes he had ever seen. Green eyes set against tanned skin and dark hair and Jack was in love. She's gorgeous, he thought, as his eyes followed the path his fingers had taken several days ago. Even down to that little bump in her nose where it had been broken once. He continued to stare at her, taking in her worried expression, and he reached out to touch her face, smoothing his fingers over her cheek. She certainly looked like she was old enough.

"Jack?" she asked again.

"You lied to me," he accused.

She stared at him for a second, sadness showing up in her eyes. "Oh Jack. We can try the medicine again. Sometimes it takes two applications." Jack shook his head to not only tell her that he was not going through that again, but that she had misunderstood him. Reena was insistent though. "I know it hurts, but if it will help you to see, I think that we should…"

"No," Jack said forcibly to stop her from going in the direction she was headed. "You lied to me about being ugly." She was now confused, judging by her expression, which slowly turned to joy when she realized what he was saying. But Jack couldn't tear his eyes from her face. Tracing her features with his fingers didn't do her justice, he thought. She was prettier than he had imagined. He reached up and placed his fingers on her scar then smoothed them over her forehead and pushed her hair back, threading his fingers into the dark tresses. The scar was an ugly one, but it really didn't distract from the rest of her face. She reached up and wrapped her fingers around his wrist, staring intently into his eyes as she did so, and Jack smiled at her. "So very beautiful." She even had a beautiful smile, Jack realized, as she grinned broadly at him. The men in her village should have their heads examined if they thought the scar made her undesirable.

"You are not disappointed?"

"Oh hell no," Jack responded, with a huge grin on his face.

"I am glad," she said softly. They stared at each other for a few moments, until she pulled back and stood up. Jack's smile vanished almost immediately. She had disappeared from his sight the moment she stood up and he panicked, thinking that he was losing his vision again.

"Reena?" he called out, trying desperately to hide the terror that was racing through him. He strained to see anything and calmed down a little when he brought his hand up to his face and saw his fingers wiggling.

"You will not see everything clearly for a few more days," Reena said, her voice coming to him from the fireplace. "Your vision will improve steadily, but all this takes time." Jack nodded his head, although he didn't necessarily agree with her. He just needed to hear it and his heart was already slowing down as he listened to her words. She came up to him and placed another dish down on the table next to him and said, "The good news is that we will not need to apply the medicine again."

"Thank God for that!" Jack grumbled good-naturedly. He knew he wouldn't have let them do it anyway, but the fact that his blindness was no longer an issue made things all the more sweeter. He turned and tried to see what was on the table, and was pleased to note that his eyesight was already improving, as he could see two bowls sitting on the table, with a pile of bandages laying next to them. The bandages were stained with what looked like blood, reminding Jack of Daniel's accusation and Reena's explanation on the day they tried to boil his eyes with the damn stuff. He grimaced at the memory then noticed that the water in one of the bowls was a dark reddish color. The other bowl was filled with clear water, which had Jack wondering what she was planning to do next.

Reena sat down next to him, then dipped a cloth into the clear water and brought the rag up to wash his face. "I want to get the rest of the medicine off of your face," she informed him, as she scrubbed on his cheek, just below his left eye. He let her scrub his face, mainly because it gave him another opportunity to see hers. And he so enjoyed the view. He couldn't get over the color of her eyes, bright against the darker tones of her skin and hair. Her lashes were long and dark, which enhanced those incredible eyes, but there was more to her than her eyes, and Jack planned to make the best of this opportunity.

She continued to wash the medicine off of his face, while Jack continued to memorize her features. She turned her head slightly so that she could look into his eyes, then gave him an inquisitive look, clearly wanting to know what he was thinking. He gave her one of his crooked smiles, and she blushed to the roots of her hair, which had Jack grinning even more. She was such an enigma.

He continued to grin at her as she shook her head at him before going back to scrubbing at his face, alternately dipping the rag into the water, wringing it out, and scrubbing. But Jack figured he was clean enough. He had something better in mind, and he took advantage of the impulse. He pulled the cloth out of her hand as he stared into her eyes, while his other hand reached up and slid softly across her shoulder to rest on the back of her neck. She resisted a little, but Jack now knew that this was only because she was still worried he would reject her. He knew better than anyone how hard it was to break through the walls of self-incrimination. She was a fighter, he thought, when she leaned into him, while he kissed her, softly at first, then turning up the heat when she became more aggressive. He loved the feel of her lips against his, and her taste, but mostly he just loved holding her close.

The kiss ended abruptly when someone banged on the door. "Jack? Are you up yet?" Daniel's timing always did suck, Jack thought, as he shrugged at his roommate.

"I am now, Daniel," he called out.

Reena grinned cheekily at him, then started to clean the table off as Daniel opened the door and came over to sit next to Jack.

"I can see that," Daniel told him sarcastically. Jack waited for him to say something else, but the blurry person sitting next to him was quiet.

"What?" Jack finally asked, then pulled back when Daniel suddenly stuck his face up into Jack's vision. Damn, he wasn't blind anymore, but things still came out from nowhere.

"Can you see me?" Daniel asked, excitement ringing clearly in his voice. "Did the medicine work?" He waved his hand in front of Jack's face, and Jack instinctively reached out to grab it. Daniel grinned broadly at him. "That's great Jack," he said, as he yanked his hand out of Jack's grasp. "I knew you were going to be able to see again."

Jack seriously doubted that Daniel had been so confident, but his friend's happiness was contagious. He nodded at Daniel, then told him, "It's a good thing it did worked. Reena has been threatening me with another treatment."

Reena came up at that moment and made a very unladylike noise as she grabbed the bandages to get them out of the way. "Are you hungry, Daniel? Will you join us for the morning meal?"

"No thanks, Reena. I've eaten already. I just stopped by to see how Jack was doing."

"I'm fine, thanks," Jack spoke up. "And now that I can see, I want to see what the village looks like."

"Not today," Reena said, putting a damper on Jack's eagerness to get out of the house. "It is too soon for you to go out in the daytime. You must let your eyes adjust to light and the sun is too bright. But perhaps we could go out later after the sun goes down."

"I'm heading over to see if I can help out with that house the others are building," Daniel piped up, obviously trying to help Reena any way he could. "I'm actually learning a lot about carpentry from these people."

Jack nodded, trying hard not to show his disappointment. Reena had been right so far, he figured he would be better off trusting her on this one. But he was so looking forward to getting out and scoping out the landscape, if for nothing else than to get out for some fresh air. "Any news about Teal'c and Carter?" It was the same question he asked Daniel every single time his friend came to see him, and he had gotten the same answer each and every time.

"Not yet," Daniel said once again. "It took us several days to get here, and these people knew the way. Teal'c and Sam don't have that advantage, but I'm sure that Teal'c has probably already found our trail and they'll be here any day now."

Jack was starting to wonder about that. The cave-in happened nearly two weeks ago. If Teal'c was going to find the trail, he would have done so a long time ago. The fact that they hadn't shown up had Jack worried that maybe they were hurt, or worse, dead, which is why he was hoping that they hadn't found the trail at all. At least they would be alive.

"Perhaps your friends are waiting for you back at the temple," Reena spoke up. "Or what remains of our temple."

Jack heard the sadness, and had an insane urge to get up to find her so that he could hold her tightly. "No. Either they think we are buried deep under the rocks in that temple, or they found the hole in the wall and figured we got out of there. If they realized we escaped, they should have found that trail by now."

"We can't let the Moonchasers find us," Reena said. Jack turned toward the fireplace, straining hard to see her, but all he saw were shadows and blurry blobs that represented furniture, although one of those blobs could be the woman he was looking for.

"Huh?" he had to ask. What did Moonchasers have to do with Carter and Teal'c.

"Reena?" Daniel said, when she didn't answer right away.

"It is imperative that we cover our tracks everywhere we go so that the Moonchasers will not be able to follow us."

"Oh crap," Jack said, as the implications of what she was telling him sank in, "Which means they have absolutely no idea where we are."

The room was silent as they all dealt with their respective thoughts. Jack supposed that he should at least be happy to know that Carter and Teal'c were probably safe and sound back in the SGC. He knew the game plan as well as Hammond did. The General would not be able to allow his people to search for two of their own for more than a few weeks. And even if he did give Carter and Teal'c permission to do it on their own, the odds that they would head out in the right direction on the first try were way out of the ballpark. No, Jack and Daniel would have to find their own way home.

"The Festival of the Moons will be held in a few months," Reena said. "You will be strong enough to travel by then and since the festival is held near the temple, you could go with us and find your way home from there." Jack had learned a lot about his new friend during the last few weeks, and he was not fooled by her nonchalant attitude. He heard the sadness that was hidden beneath the words.

"Couldn't we get someone to take us there before then?" Daniel asked.

"If another patrol goes out, you may be able to go with them, but it is doubtful that another one will leave before the festival."

"Let's take this one day at a time," Jack said. "My eyesight is not the best – I can't even see you sitting there, so leaving wouldn't be a great option right now. Reena tells me that my vision will improve over the next couple of days, so we can hang out until then."

"All right," Daniel agreed, although Jack could tell it was a reluctant response. Something was going on with Daniel, and Jack wondered what was wrong.

"Everything okay, Daniel?" he asked.

"Yeah, just fine. Look, I'd better get going. I'll stop back by later Jack." The scrape of a chair being moved warned Jack that Daniel was getting up, so he didn't jump when Daniel laid his hand on Jack's shoulder, then moved in close to say, "Stay inside the house today and don't strain your eyes too much. You don't want to mess things up by damaging anything."

"Yes doctor," Jack said dryly. He had already decided to stay away from direct sunlight, but apparently Daniel thought Jack would try to fly the coop.

Daniel laughed, the sound coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the door, then said, "I don't envy you Reena. That guy can be such a bear when he's sick."

"I know," Reena responded enthusiastically. "I have already had to burn one of my chairs when he smashed it beyond repair in a fit of frustration."

"It was in the way," Jack hurried to defend himself. She had already told this story to a few of her friends, and it appeared Daniel was in for a treat, as well. Jack hated this. She didn't have to broadcast his failures of coping to the world.

"I heard," Daniel said, his voice laced with laughter. "Broke it over your mother's head was one version that I heard." Reena giggled at that, and Jack wanted to hit them both, but decided to go with the flow.

"Not her mother, although now that you mention it…"

"Don't even say it," Reena said, as she came up and set down a bowl of mush on the table in front of him. "My mother is not so bad."

"If you say so," Jack grumbled, although he was grinning as he thought about her mother. That woman had a no nonsense manner about her, and she had read Jack the riot act the other day, warning him that she would personally kill him if he hurt Reena, or did anything to bring the community elder's to her daughter's doorstep. He couldn't help but wonder what she would think if she ever found out about the kisses he shared with her daughter.

"I say so," Reena insisted.

"I'll see you later Jack," Daniel called out as he opened the door. "And just remember, Reena doesn't have a whole lot of furniture. Leave her something to sit on, will you?"

"Go away, Daniel," Jack yelled back, just as the door closed, leaving Jack and Reena to eat their breakfast together. She sat down next to him and began to eat out of her own bowl. Jack looked down at the mush she served, thinking that it looked a lot like oatmeal. He looked up to see a fuzzy Reena staring at him as she chewed, and he smiled at her to let her know he was still going to eat the stuff. He knew from experience what it tasted like, as she made it every morning, so he began to eat, glad that he didn't have to fumble around to find the spoon and the bowl. It had been fairly easy for him to eat when he was blind, although there had been a few times when the food had dropped from the spoon before he got it to his mouth. His frustration and embarrassment that he couldn't even feed himself had enhanced the helpless feelings that he had learned to live with. Reena never mentioned it, which Jack was extremely grateful for. It was bad enough that he endured the humiliation of not being able to feed himself, he didn't think he would have reacted very well if she had brought it up to him.

But now that he was able to see the spoon and the bowl, he could eat with confidence. The mush was sweet and tasted like bread, but had the same texture of oatmeal. It was definitely good, and he briefly wondered what exactly it was he was eating, but decided he didn't care. It hadn't killed him yet, or given him indigestion, so it really didn't matter.

"Will you stay inside today?" Reena asked, breaking into Jack's thoughts.

"Yeah, I'll stay inside," he told her, a little reluctantly, then realized that she must be planning to leave him alone, or she wouldn't have asked. "Are you going somewhere?"

"I am a warrior. I have to train to be ready."

Jack nodded, then grabbed her arm as she stood up to walk past him. He tugged on her arm, until she stumbled and fell on his lap. "When do you have to go?" he asked, as she sat there grinning at him.

"Soon," she said, "I won't be gone long."

Jack nodded as he stared into the face of the woman who had taken him in. What the hell was he doing? He wanted nothing more than to kiss her into wanting to stay with him. But that would mean a deeper involvement, and Jack had to remind himself that he would be leaving in a few days. His heart was at stake here, and it appeared that she was in danger of being hurt, as well. He had to protect himself from the pain and the loneliness that inevitably came with leaving. But the temptation was too much. He kissed her deeply, then pulled back when they were both breathless, sadness and pain rifling through him as he stared into her eyes. "I don't want to hurt you," he whispered.

She nodded, her eyes shimmering with tears, and he realized he had hurt her anyway. He reached up to wipe away a stray tear that had escaped, and she gave him a said smile, before saying, "My people believe that tears symbolize strength and character. A few think that tears show weakness, but most of us know that they cleanse the soul." Jack's doubt must have showed up on his face, because she said, "Is it not the same with your people?"

"No. We believe in the weakness theory." She scrunched up her nose at that, and Jack couldn't help smiling at her, then wondered if he would be able to convince her to go back to Earth with him. He'd drag her over to the bed right then and there if he knew for sure. But he couldn't be sure of anything with this woman, so he settled for going the safe route. He let her go when she stood up.

He listened to her movements as she cleaned up the breakfast dishes. Sadness washed over him once again when he realized that he would be leaving soon, but he knew that it couldn't be any other way. He had things to do and Goa'ulds to destroy, and he wouldn't be able to do that living with these people. So he resolved to keep his hands off of Reena from that moment on, at least he was going to give it his best shot.

"Do you need anything before I leave?" He shook his head, knowing that he'll have a much better time of getting around now that he had his sight back, well at least a good portion of it back. He had been quite capable of taking care of himself when he was blind, he definitely could do it now that he could see. "I'll be back soon," she promised, as the door opened. He didn't respond, just continued to sit there while the door closed softly behind her.

The silence surrounded him, enveloping him in a cocoon that only allowed him to see a few feet in any direction. But Jack was the type that would take whatever he could get, and a few feet was not a bad option considering the complete blindness he had dealt with over the past two weeks. He stood up, then proceeded to explore the house he had been living in, determined to learn everything he could about the people who had taken him in.

They were not all that different from the people of Earth, he realized. The tools, dishes, and weapons were not as technologically advanced, but the furniture and tools were reminiscent of his ancestors, while the houses were built from local trees and resembled log cabins. Jack took his time learning about Reena and her people, figuring it would pass some time as he waited for his chance to see the village.

There were many items of interest in the cabin. He picked up and inspected everything that caught his eye, including a piece of fabric that was on a chair near the fireplace. It was a thin piece of fabric with a design sewn into it with red thread. Jack couldn't figure out what the design was, but he stared at it as a distant memory filtered through his mind. Someone singing a haunting tune… He brought the fabric up to his nose, inhaling in the scent of Reena's soap as he tried to remember where the memory came from, then shook his head when it appeared that the memory had left him. He laid the fabric back down where he had found it, so that Reena would be able to find it when she went back to it. He continued to explore while he dwelled on his roommate.

That woman was the most exasperating person he had ever met. She was a tough warrior on the outside, practical and reasonable one minute, feminine and vulnerable the next. He never knew where he stood with her, yet he still had to admit that the more he interacted with her, the more he valued their friendship. And now that he was able to see the little facets of her life, he was even more intrigued to learn more about this mystery named Reena.

Even so, he enjoyed being here with her now. He was definitely going to miss her when it came time to leave.


End file.
